Tag machines



May 24, 1960 E. GREEN ET AL 2,937,579

' TAG MACHINES Filed March 23, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 a! 62 I E 5 155 i F I 152 :9

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LWZL May 24, 1960 E. GREEN ET AL 2,937,579

TAG MACHINES Filed March 23, 1959 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I 7 ii F1. 4 5 E Q 45 Q Q 61 s Q 72) 144 3 Q j14s Q 16 Q F 5 62 290 Q E13 w v 2a 146 5 I S 1' T im Q 5 7o". 147 ev 1a /////////////////////Q 26 m 1/ Inventors MQ/GW a,

May 24, 1960 VE. GREEN ET AL 2,937,579

' TAG MACHINES Filed March 23, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 so 157 105 F--- 10 150 6 /1 Inven t or:

May 24, 1960 E. GREEN ET AL 2,937,579

- TAG MACHINES Filed March 25, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 WQ W United States Patent TAG MACHINES Emil Green, 15 Union Place, Lynbrook, N.Y.-, and Samuel Schlanger, 44 Forest Road, Valley Stream,

Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,060

Claims. (CI. 93-91) This invention pertains to a tag machine used 'for performing operations on a particular type of tag, the manufacturing of which requires numerous operations after it has been fabricated in order to convert it to a stringed tag suitable to be placed on articles. This invention eliminates the necessary hand labor used whereby the fabricated tag is made into a finished product and sold as such.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine which will moisten a tag, and place a loop of string on the tag, the closed loop extending outside the tag, fold the tag over the two open ends of the loop so that the tag and string are one unit, inseparable. Raw tags supplied-for use in this machine, normally, have a dryglue on one side (similar to that on flaps of post office envelopes) a fold crease in the center, and printed matter on the opposite side.

Another object of the invention is to supply a completely automatic operation whereon the operator would only be required to place a roll of string in position and then concentrate on keeping a hopper filled with supplies of raw tags whereupon the machine would perform all necessary operations of feeding, wetting, stringing, and folding the tag, the string having been supplied in rolls sufiicient to maintain continuous supply over a relative long period, being looped and cut to length by the machine as required, a sliding member traveling in a reciprocating rectilinear path transferring the tag from hopper, to, folding and stringing station by use of a vacuum incorporated in saidsliding member.

A still further object of the-invention is to make the machine of such a nature that should it be desired that the loop be longer or shorter, or, size of tag be larger or smaller, adjustments be provided of such a nature that a minimum of time and effort would be required by semiskilled labor to make the necessary adjustment whereby the machine can accomodate various sizes of loops and tags.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine that would accomodate possible variations in time required to set moistened glued label so that tags would be permanently inseperable, provisions being provided to give the moistened tag a roll over and hold operation, after folding, to allow setting of glue under pressure, additional provisions being provided by using machine in conjunction with a conveyor belt having a seperate overhead belt whereby the mechanism that removes the completed tag from the machine, would allow it to fall upon the belt of the conveyor, allowing the overhead conveyor belt to exert pressure on the tag during its .travel on the conveyor, a means of speeding or slowing up,conveyor being incorporated so that the time element thatupper belt is applying pressure to tag resting on lower belt can be varied to suit setting time of glue on tag.

One more object of this invention is toprovide a machine that can be adapted in parts as an attachment to existing tag machines, whereas, existing tag-machinesare performing other operations on tags, by using the set of motions necessary to wen-string, and fold overjlinked into present machines, a means being provided to operate attached portion of this machine to motivate in proper sequence the operations necessary to allow functions of existing machines to be used in proper sequence with attached portion of machine to perform overall function,

and, by this combinatiomproduce similar tag assemblies.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which will be formed of strong simple parts, which will be inexpensive to operate and which will not easily get out of order. I

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certainnovel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a front elevation' view with portions of front covers and frame broken away to show interior mechanism.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 but to a larger scale.

Figure 3 is a view in the direction 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is across section to a larger scale taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1. g

Figure 5 is a'view taken in the direction 5-5 of Figure 4. e I

Figure 6 is a plan viewof the tag conveying sliding member shown to a larger scale and associated mechanisms. t

Figure 7 is a cross section view taken on the line 7- of Figure 6.

. Figure 8--is a cross section takenon line 8-8 of Figure l with portions broken away for clarity, shown to a much larger scale, and including upper portion. I Figure 9 shows four basic stages of fabrication of the tag as it goes thru the machine. I

Fig. 10 is a view of the string holder taken in the di-. rection of 10-10 of Figure 8.

Referring to the drawings (Fig. 1) frame 1 is made of steel plate, securely welded together with gussetsin the proper corners and using the interior mounting welded structure as a means of reinforcement sothat in its entirety it becomes a rigid main frame structure for providing support for the various operative elements. of the mechanism. l

An electric motor 2 is mounted on a pivoted base 119, this base being pivoted around shaft and restingv on stop screw 125. Eccentric 26 is pinned to shaft 121.which is free to turn in the journal provided for it in the main frame and has a hand lever 25 rigidly screwed to it on the outer end, fastening means being provided so'that hand lever 25 can be oriented to proper angular rela-. tionship with eccentric 26 after assembly.

Electric motor 2 is of the type that has its driving shaft extending on both ends and has vacuum pump 4 connected to one end by means of a flexible coupling and receive belt 115. With hand lever 25 loose on shaft 121- and resting on rear stop pin 122, stop screw is adjusted until tension of belt 115 is correct for driving,

whereupon eccentric 26 is rotated until it just contacts pivoted base 119. Hand lever 25 is now screwed rigidly. to shaft 121 by screw 124. Upon moving hand lever 25 until it rests upon forward Stop pin 123 eccentric 26 will cause pivoted base 119 to move upward about shaft 120 and relieve tension on belt 115 thus preventing transmission of power to reducer 7, and allowing only electric motor 2 and vacuum pump 4 to operate.

Vacuum pump 4 is connected to vacuum tank '6 by means of a flexible hose 5. In turn outlet of vacuum tank 6 is connected to valve 8 Valve 8 is a three way valve that can be operated to connect slide 12, to vacuum tank 6, through flexible holes 108, or to atmosphere. Operation of valve 8 is done by lever 9 which is slotted at its upper end, pivoting on stud 127, and operated 111 turn by cam 98 (Fig. 8) and returned by spring 96. Y

Referring to Figure 1, slide 12 travels in a reciprocating rectilinear path and is held in conventional u ding slides while being motivated by lever 10 which in turn is connected to slide 12 by link 1 28 and turns about pivot 129. Cam 11 (Fig. 8) has a pin in the side toward lever 10 and furnishes power to lever 10 by moving in a slot in lever 10.

A roll of string 21 (Fig. 1) is able to rotate about stud 131. The end of the string, is fed down thru tube 81, past cantiliver spring 82, (Fig. 4), which prevents string from going back, and thin tube 84, string extending slightly beyond tube 84. Carrier 15 travels in a reciprocating vertical path and is motivated by lever 87 which in turn is motivated by cam 90 thru roller 88 while pivoting with shaft 89. Slot on opposite end engages pin 86 fastened to carrier 15.

Movable string holder 24 (Fig. 10) pivots around stud 132 and is activated by cam 97 (Fig. 8), holding string against stationary 's'tring holder 13 after string is fed into position by carrier 15. String puller 28 (Figs. 4'and is pivoted on stud 64 (Fig. 1) and motivated by cam 66. pulling thread to form a loop over tag while end of string is captivated between stationary string holder 133 and movable string holder 24 and after carrier 15 has returned to its original position shown in Fig. 4. Length of loop can be controlled by moving stud 64 to different holes along string puller 28.

Movable knife 134 (Fig. is a hardened steel member having a V shaped sharpened end on side nearest string. Lever 23 carries movable knife 134 and is pivoted on stud 132 being driven by cam 11 (Fig. 8), driving movable knife 134 against stationary blade 130 after loop is formed by string puller 28, string being pulled slightly past edge of tag after being cut to insure overlap of string by tag.

Hopper 13 (Fig. 1) is a conventional type hopper into which the tags, having their glued side upward are stacked to be picked off one at a time by a suction pull of the slide 12 as it starts its forward cycle of reciprocating motion. Adjustment is provided so that the hopper 13 can be moved on slots to take various size tags, the hopper, capable of being moved to center tags on slide 12 for proper pick up.

Shaft 45 (Fig. 2) is held to frame 1 by screw 136 and can be rotated to any angular position, carrying square rod 27, in a round hole at its outer end and securely holding square rod 27 by set screw 135. At the lower end of square rod 27, shaft 137 is retained by a screw tapped into its end. Riding on shaft 137 is spindle 47 having bushings pressed into its interior and having wetting rolls 46 retained on its outer surface by friction washers 48 on each end. Friction washers 48 are conventional split spring grip type washers which hold onto spindle 47 by radial spring pressure and can be adjusted laterally along spindle 47 to maintain any required number of wetting rolls 46. Wetting rolls 46 are made of a felt or other water absorbing material and wet the glued side of the tag as it passes under the rolls, carried by slide 12 after having been picked up from the hopper 13. Water for wetting rolls 46 is run from reservoir 14 (Fig. 1) thru conventional regulation valve 22 and thru tube 138.

Slide 12 (Figs. 6 and 7) is made of two rectangular 1 steel tubes welded together, closed on both ends, and

connected to vacuum at rear end by two hoses 108 to vacuum or atmosphere as required. Lift 109 is pivoted in slide 12 by pin 111 and when slide 12 is traveling in its forward cycle it causes lift 109 to hit roller 113, fastened by bracket 126 to frame 1, and to raise it into approximately a vertical position, thereby giving the tag, held by vacuum to slide 12, its initial fold to a degree bend. Slide 12 on its return motion causes lift 111 to drop down to its original position by pull of spring 112. Plate 103 carries slide 12 in inner guide 139 and outer guide 140 and is slotted to receive nuts 106 and 107 which are milled on upper end to fit this slot. Directly above these nuts slide 21 has a solid counterbored slug with a hole for a screw, brazed in place to seal vacuum leakage and provide room so that screws 104 and 105 can be put in from the top with their heads underflush with top of slide 12. By loosening screws 104 and 105 in nuts 106 and 107 slide 12 can be adjusted relative to plate 103. Holes 141 and 142 are put in the top surface of slide 12 to provide outlets of vacuum for tag pick up. Holes 142 pick up tag at hopper while holes 141 pick up tag at stringing section of machine. For small tags outmost hose 108 can be shut off and thereby seal olf vacuum from outermost holes 141 and 142 allowing innermost holes to be used alone.

Cam '52 (Fig. 2) drives lever 49, clamped to pivot shaft 50, thru roller 51. The lower end of lever 49 is slotted to receive sliding member 54 which in turn is pinned to shaft 31. Shaft 31 motivated in a non-linear reciprocating motion, returned by spring 59, carries clamp arm 33 (Fig. -3) which in turn clamps on to shaft 34, in turn clamped to clamp 35, in turn clamped to shaft 36 which in turn is pinned to pivot carrier 37. Shaft 38 rides in bushings in pivot carrier 37 and carries rectangular bent rear finger 39 in a closed slot at its outermost end. A set screw holds rear 'finger 39 in shaft 38. Torsion spring 142 (Fig. 3) causes the rear finger 39 to be held under spring tension in a downward position. Rear finger 39, shown in its outermost position, is inserted onto slide 12 by cam 52 thru roller 51 after slide 12 has moved tag from the hopper to its furthest forward position under the stringer section. It then acts against the tag as a stop so that slide 12 now moving on its rearward cycle with vacuum off, will not carry the tag with it.

Cam 58 (Fig. 2) drives lever 55, clamped 0n pivot shaft 56, thru roller 57. The lower end of lever 55 is slotted to receive sliding member 143 which in turn is pinned to shaft 32. Shaft 32 motivated in a non linear reciprocating motion, energy for forward motion being received from spring 60, carries clamp arm 40 (Fig. 3) which in turn clamps on shaft 41, in turn clamped to clamp '42 which carries slidable shaft 43 held by set screw. The lower end of shaft 43 is slotted for rectangular front finger 44, retained by a set screw in shaft 43. Front finger 44 shown in its innermost position, is inserted onto slide 12 and over partially folded tag near fold line after tag has been carried to its furthest forward position, keeping tag from moving forward when a roll over operation is next performed on the tag. Position of both front finger 44 and rear finger 39 are adjustable in horizontal and vertical directions by virtue of the various clamp'arnis as can readily be-seen by visual inspection of Figure 2 and Figure 3.

Cam '77 (Fig. 4) drives lever arm'80, clamped on pivot shaft 78, thru'roller 79. On the opposite end of lever arm 80, self aligning rod end 74 is mounted with a screw and is connected to self aligning rod end 76 by threaded shaft 75.. Self aligning rod end 76 is screwed to arm 73 which in turn is clamped to "shaft 72 riding in two bearings in frame -1 and restrained from axial motion by collars 144 and 145. At outer end of shaft 72 arm 16 is rigidly clamped carrying stud 146 pinned in its lower end about which arm 70 turns on a bushing. At the lower end of arm 70 a rigidly mounted shaft 147 supports a bushed fr'oller71. .At the upper end of arm 70 screw 148 (Fig. 1)

is threaded in and acts as a stop against pin 149 in arm 16. Spring- .69 maintains tension torque between arm 16 and arm 70 about pivot 146. In operation roller 71 remains in position shown until after tag has been brought forward in a right angle folded position to the stringing station, front finger 44 is in position over tag near fold line, rear finger 39 is behind tag and loop of string has been formed in tag. Roller 71 is now brought down on an arc contacting slide 12 and continuing along slide 12 under spring tension 69 rolling over rear finger 39, front finger 44, and tag, remaining stationary over front end of tag after having rolled over tag to a flat folded position from a right angle position.

Cam 92 (Fig. 4) motivates arm 93, clamped to pivot shaft 150, thru roller 91. Arm 93 is held against cam 92 by spring 94 and is clamped to shaft 150 which is sup-' ported by two bearings in frame 1 and axially retained by collars. Arm 17 is clamped to shaft 150 and carrier rod 67 in its lower end is retained in axial adjustment by a set screw. Flap 151 is screwed to outer end of rod 67 over slide 12. In normal operation flap 151 is retained above slide 12 until the tag is carried forward in the forward holes 141 of slide 12 from the stringing position to extreme forward position whereupon flap 151 drops behind the tag and holds it stationary until it drops off slide 12 into a conveyor while slide 12 is moving in its rearward cycle of recpirocating motion.

Eccentric 154 (Fig. I) mounted on shaft 130 around which is split bearing ring 18 with rod 63 threaded into it. The other end of rod 63 has a rod end bearing 155 screwed into it and clamped to a slot in arm 62 by means of a screw and nut. Connected to the other end of arm 62 is a. conventional over-running clutch 61 used as a ratchet. The output of the over-running clutch is connected to the front drive shaft of a conveyor which has drive pulley 158 connected to it. At the rear of this conveyor is idler pulley 159 (Fig. 8) and passing around both pulleys driven by drive pulley 158 is endless belt 29 whose upper half is riding on a conventional conveyor table 160. Directly above and set inward from pulleys of the above described conveyor are 2 idler pulleys 157 and 156 around which passes belt 30 loosely hung unsupported except by the idler pulleys 157 and 156 and driven by the friction imposed on the lower half contacting the upper half of driven belt 29. Finished tags from the machine drop onto the upper exposed end of belt 29 and are driven in between lower half of belt 30 and upper half of belt 29 until they reach the drive end of the conveyor where they drop off into a container. During the period of time they are on this conveyor, the weight of the lower half of belt 30 is applying pressure to the tag and thereby holding them together with the string captured until the glue of the tag has dried during the travel. Adjustment of the speed of the conveyor can be made by adjusting the position of rod end bearing 155 (Fig. 1) along the slot in arm 62 thereby causing angular motion of arm 62 to vary. By this means the time that the tag is drying in the conveyor can be varied.

Drive for various mechanisms in the machine come from the electric motor 2 (Fig. l) to pulley '3 mounted on one end and to pulley 114 by means of belt 115. Pulley 114 is mounted on input shaft of reducer 7. The output of reducer 7 drives shaft 130 thru a flexible coupling. On the far end of shaft 130 is chain sprocket 19 which drives upper shaft 53 thru chain 152 to chain sprocket 20. On shaft 130 is also mounted bevel gear 102 (Fig. 8) which in turn drives bevel gear 101 and shaft 153 mountedon bearings 99 and 100.

I In the operation of the machine, with the motor running and hand lever (Fig. l) rotated against rear stop pin 122 so that belt 115 is loose, only vacuum pump 4 is being driven, since it is directly connected to motor, and is exhausting air from vacuum tank 6. Upon throwing hand lever 25 in an opposite direction until it hits forward stop pin 123, eccentric 26 will cause motor to lower, tightening belt, and causing all drive shafts to rotate. Slide 12 now traveling in a reciprocating motion, when it is in its maximum rearward position will have holes 142 directly under the lowest tag in the hopper 13 whereupon valve 8 is operated so that holes 141 and 142 in slide 12 are now connected to vacuum tank 6.

The tag with its glued side upward is now sucked down on to the slide 12 by the. vacuum in holes 142, and remains on the slide in the position shown by 117A in Figure 9. A previously formed tag or dummy is placed over holes 141 to seal off vacuum leakage. The slide now starts its forward travel and carries tag under moistened wetting rolls 46 (Fig. 2) where the glue on the tag is now moistened. Upon continuing on its forward motion lift 109 (Fig. 7) hits roller 113 and rises to hit the rear of the tag, the rear half of tag now rising with the lift until both are approximately at right angles to slide 12. Tag now has a right angle fold as shown in 117B (Fig. 9). Still continuing on its forward motion slide 12 now carries the half folded tag to its maximum forward position.

At this point front finger 44 (Fig. 3) is moved in at right angle to the slide over the horizontal part and near the fold line of the tag while rear finger 39 is likewise moved in behind the erect half of the tag. The string, which is protruding slightly from tube 84 (Fig. 4), is now moved vertically downward by carrier 15 thru slot in string puller 28 (Fig. 5) and when it reaches its maximum downward position movable string holder 24 (Fig. 10) clamps the loose end of the string against stationary string holder133. Carrier 15 now moves vertically upward to its original position leaving end of string captivated between movable string holder 24 and station a-ry string holder 133 and stretching upward thru center of slot in string puller 28. String puller 28 now moves outward and perpendicular to direction of travel of slide 12 now carrying the string which is captivated at its lower end but free to feed out from tube 84. When string puller 28 has reached a proper outward position according to length of loop required, movable knife 134 (Fig. 10) moves against stationary blade and cuts both ends of loop. Movable knife 134 now returns to its original position and now string puller moves outward slightly to bring both loose ends of loop that have been cut, to a position just inside of end of tag as shown in 117C Figure 9. Meanwhile valve 8 is operated to release vacuum on holes 141 and 142 in slide 12 and slide starts its rearward cycle of reciprocating motion. The tag is now kept from moving rearward with the slide by the rear finger 39 which is directly behind the tag.

Flap 151 (Fig. 1 and Fig. 4) drops down behind previously fabricated tag or dummy tag on holes 141 of slide 12 and keeps this tag from moving back with slide until the slide is no longer under the tag. It then drops down on to the drying conveyor shown in Figure 8 as previously described.

Roller 71 (Fig. 1 and Fig. 4) is now rotated downward, rolling along slide with pressure exerted by spring 69, and rolls over tag, giving the tag a roll over that completely folds it from its right angle-fold. Roller 71 remains stationary at front end of tag, exerting pressure for a slight period of time while slide 12 still continues its rearward cycle of motion. Front finger 44 keeps tag from moving forward from action of roller 71 on the tag. Front finger 44 returns/to its original position behind the slide, roller 71 keeping the tag in position while it is being withdrawn, then roller- 71 withdraws to its starting position-over the slide. When slide 12 has reached its maximum rearward position, flap-151 is brought back to its position above the slide and rear finger 39 returns to its position behind the slide. Vacuum is again turned on' by valve 8, fabricated'tag being sucked onto holes 141 and anothertag being sucked down from hopper 13 onto holes 142. Slide 12 now again starts its forward stroke.

The loop of the fabricated tag on holes 141 is still hanging around open sot in string puller 28 but now due to the forward motion of the tag it is pulled off open end of slot, finished tag now looking like 117D (Fig. 9) string puller 28 now returns to its original position underneath tube 84 and the cycle of operation continues as described above.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What we claim is:

1. A tag machine having a movable tag carrier, means operative to move said tag carrier from pickup and stringing position to stringing and disposal position, a wetting roll posed over the carrier at the pick up end for moistening the tag, fingers mounted at the stringing station, one sliding over said tag to prevent forward motion while the other is sliding behind said tag to prevent rearward motion of said tag, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting the string, a roller posed over the carrier to be brought down over the tag to roll over remaining portion of said tag giving it a fold over said loop, a lever provided in said carrier to raise one end of the tag to position so that the roller can be in advantageous position to fold over said tag by rolling over, a fiap arranged to drop behind the tag carried to disposal position whereupon the flap will prevent said tag from moving backward when the carrier is returning, a conveyor mounted underneath the disposal position receiving the tag as the carrier moves from underneath said tag, means for motivating said conveyor at various speeds, an overhead conveyor arranged so that the weight from said overhead conveyor exerts pressure on the tag as it moves on the lower conveyor.

2. A tag machine having a movable tag carrier, means operative to move said tag carrier from pick-up and stringing position to stringing and disposal position, a wetting roll, finger means to keep the tag from moving at the stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting the string, additional motion incorporated in pulling the loop forward so that loose ends of said loop are inside the end of the tag, means for rolling over tag over said loop, a means having been provided to give said tag an initial lift to place it in an advantageous position for rolling over, a flap arranged to be placed behind said tag at disposal position to keep said tag from moving back with the tag carrier, a conveyor to receive the finished tag as it drops from said conveyor, means so that pressure is exerted on said tag as it moves on said conveyor, adjustment of speed provided to vary speed of said conveyor.

3. In a tag machine having a movable tag carrier and means operative to move said tag carrier from the pickup and stringing position to the stringing and disposal position, said carrier having an inner wall dividing the carrier, holes provided on both sides of the wall at the pick up and stringing stations when said carrier is in its rearward position, vacuum means connected to both sides of said wall such that the sets of holes on both sides or either side of said wall can be exposed to vacuum or atmosphere pressure as required, a wetting roll, fingers motivated to keep the tag from moving at stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting the string, means for rolling over remaining portion of said tag over said loop, a means having been provided to give said tag a lift to place it in an advantageous position for rolling over, means to remove said tag from the carrier after it has been fabricated, means provided to keep pressure on the finished tag after it leaves said carrier, duration of the pressure time being adjustable.

4. In a tag machine having a movable tag carrier and having means operative to move said tag carrier from pick-up and stringing position to stringing and disposal position, a wetting roll mounted such that it receives moisture from the drip feed of a mounted reservoir, said roll being of a water absorbing material adjustable in all directions for proper alignment and contact with the glued surface of the tags as they roll underneath, the wetting rolls being made of a number of rolls so that the length of the wetting roll can be increased or de creased by adding or subtracting any number of rolls, a means incorporated to exert friction contact against the extreme outside rolls to keep the rolls integral, fingers motivated in proper sequence to prevent the tag from moving at the stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming the loop onto a portion of said tag and cutting the string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag'over said loop, means for removing said tag at the disposal station, additional means for receiving and applying pressure during an adjustable time cycle to assure inseperable tag assemblies.

5. In a tag machine having a main frame, a movable tag carrier, means operative to move said tag carrier from the pick up and stringing position to the stringing and disposal station, a wetting roll, fingers motivated in proper sequence to prevent the tag from moving at the stringing station, a spring incorporated in the mechanism of the rear finger to give said rear finger a torque in a downward direction against the carrier to maintain zero clearance between said carrier and said rear finger thereby preventing the said tag from being drawn between said possible space between carrier and said rear finger as said carrier is moving in its rearward cycle of motion,

means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over said loop, means for removing said tag at disposal station, additional device.

for receiving and applying pressure during adjustable time cycle to assure seperable tag assemblies.

6. In a tag machine having a main frame, a movable tag carrier, an arm attached to said movable tag carrier by means of a link, said arm being pivoted on its lower end and having a slot along a portion of it in which a sliding member carried in a circular path motivates said arm in a reciprocating angular path in timed sequence with related motions from the pick up and stringing station to the stringing and disposal station, a wetting roll, finger means at the stringing station to prevent the tag from moving at said stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting the string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over the looped string on said tag, means for removing finished tag from the carrier, additional means provided to exert pressure on said finished tag over a variable period of time to assure an inseperable tag.

7. In a tag machine having a main frame, a movable tag carrier, means operative to move said tag carrier from the pick up and stringing station to the stringing and disposal station, a wetting roll, fingers motivated in proper sequence to keep the tag from moving at the stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting the string, the loop puller being made with an open slot, open end at end toward forward motion of the slide, so that said tag, in its motion on the slide toward the disposal station, will drag the loop of string off the open end of said slot, said loop puller being held on the lever traveling in an arc, pivoted at lower end, and adjustable in stroke, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over looped string on said tag, means for removing said tag station, a wetting roll, fingers motivated in proper sequence to keep the tag from moving at stringing station, said fingers being made such that they can be adjusted for proximity to carrier, means also being provided so that they can be adjusted to accommodate smaller and larger tags, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over said loop, additional means provided to exert pressure on the finished tag over a variable period of time to assure an inseparable tag.

9. In a tag machine having a main frame, a tag carrier reciprocable in a substantially rectilinear path from pick up and stringing station to stringing and disposal station, wetting rolls, fingers motivated in proper sequence to keep the tag'from moving at stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over looped string on said tag, means for removing said tag from the carrier, a driven conveyor mounted under the disposal station to receive the finished tag as it drops off, front drive pulley being driven by an eccentric on the machine connected thru a rod to an arm which motivates an overrunning clutch used as a ratchet providing intermittent motion to the conveyor, adjustment of intermittent motion being made by moving position of the attachment of the rod end to the arm thereby increasing or decreasing the angular rotation of said arm,

an overhead conveyor operated in conjunction with this conveyor to apply pressure to the tag while it travels on the lower conveyor, said overhead conveyor being free to move with the driven lower conveyor.

10. In a tag machine having a main frame, a tag car rier reciprocable in a substantially rectilinear path from pick up and stringing station to stringing and disposal station, wetting rolls, fingers motivated in proper sei quence to keep the tag from moving at stringing station, means for feeding, holding, forming loop onto a portion of said tag, and cutting string, means for folding over remaining portion of said tag over the looped string on said tag, device for removing said tag from the carrier, additional means being provided to exert pressure on the finished tag over variable period of time to assure inseparable tags, a means being incorporated in the carrier such that on its forward stroke a lift pivoted in the carrier will contact a stationary roller causing said lift to rise and carry the rear half of said tag with it around the fold line whereupon said tag will be in advantageous position to be folded over by an additional device. 7

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,004,163 Graeba June 11, 1935 2,226,766 Gordon et a1. Dec. 31, 1940 2,382,778 Dalton Aug. 14, 1945 

